According to prerequisites defined in Public Law 110-314, the CPSIA, manufacturers and private labelers must submit samples of certain children’s products for testing by an independent laboratory before those products can be imported, warehoused or sold in the United States. The requirements apply to any product manufactured more than 90 days after the Commission has announced its conditions for conformance with a specific safety rule.

The first item addressed by the CPSIA, in September of 2008, covered lead paint. This second set of requirements in specifies testing for full-size cribs, non-full-size cribs, and pacifiers.

The CPSC announced the new requirements in the October 22, 2008, publication of the Federal Register. The requirements will become enforceable on January 20, 2009, joining prior mandates under the CPSIA. Laboratories must be accredited by an approved third-party body in order to meet the CPSC’s specifications for the testing of these products. ACLASS is a CPSC-recognized accreditation body authorized to accredit testing laboratories under the new requirements.

“A critical element of assuring that children’s products are safe is accurate and reliable third-party testing,” said ACLASS Vice President Keith Greenaway. “Our services can demonstrate a testing laboratory’s level of competence, not only to CPSC and Congress, but also to manufacturers, importers, retailers, and the general public.”

Further requirements of the CPSIA legislation state that the accreditation bodies must themselves be recognized by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC), a cooperation of more than 70 peer laboratory and inspection accreditation bodies around the world. ACLASS became a signatory to the ILAC Arrangement in 2006.

About ANSI
ANSI is a private non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance U.S. global competitiveness and the American quality of life by promoting, facilitating, and safeguarding the integrity of the voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system. Its membership is comprised of businesses, professional societies and trade associations, standards developers, government agencies, and consumer and labor organizations. The Institute represents the diverse interests of more than 125,000 companies and organizations and 3.5 million professionals worldwide.

The Institute is the official U.S. representative to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and, via the U.S. National Committee, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), and is a U.S. representative to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF). ANSI currently has offices in New York City and Washington, DC.